Lec 01

Question 1

What is Ardipithecus Ramidus?
What does it tell us about humanity?
What is allometry?

Answer 1

A. Ramidus, Found in Ethiopia is a very popular species. Divergent large toe, Pelvis adaptations for tree climbing.

Showcases humanity was bipedal + climbers (not all) and dated roughly 7billion years old.

• Foremen magnum + pelvis crucial to bipedalism
  Allometry = study of relationship of size to shape ratio (physiological + anatomy, etc)

Question 2

3 ages of humanity? Subdivisions?

Answer 2

Pliocene, Pleistocene, Holocene (current)

Gelasian: 2.6 -1.8 million years ago
Early: 1.8 - 780K years ago
Middle: 780K - 130K years ago
Late: 130K - 12K yrs ago

Question 3

Hominoids/ Hominids/ Hominins?

Answer 3

Hominoids (14ma)
Hominids
Hominins (exclusive to humans)

All hominins are hominoids and hominids but not vice versa in reverse.

• 8mil yrs ago, humans split off from Chimpanzees on the phylogenic tree.

Question 4

Cranial Anatomy + Dentition

Answer 4

Cranial Capacity: humans (1300cm cubed)
Crests: Presence of absence of there of
Facial Prognathism: no for humans, yes for some species
Brow ridges
Foreman Magnum Position

Tooth size (large vs small molars)
Tooth shape (rectangular or subrounded)
Arcade (u-shape or parabolic)

Question 5

Phylogenetic Tree Clusters?

Answer 5

Ardipithecus
Australopithecus
Paranthropus
Homo

Question 6

3 bone differences in humans vs chimpanzees?

Answer 6

• Gradual movement of foreman magnum
• “basin” shape vs chimpanzee (for organ support)
• Femur, straight vs. bent inwards (human)

Question 7

Sahelanthropus?
(where, age, type of specimen, key traits?)

Answer 7

Found in Chad, ~7-6mya, TM 266 cranium
Bipedal, 360cc + huge brow ridge + small canines